


Family Ties

by Scylla87



Series: Scofield Family Feels [3]
Category: Prison Break
Genre: Angst, Camping Trip Aftermath, Family Drama, Family Feels, Gen, Jacob is his own warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 09:38:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17557925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scylla87/pseuds/Scylla87
Summary: Sara can't help but be concerned about what may have happened when Michael returns from taking their son camping for the first time since coming back from the dead.A sequel to "The Space Between Us."





	Family Ties

**Author's Note:**

> So I am back with more Scofield family angst. Sorry about that. But I really that you guys like it all the same.
> 
> Last year I wrote a short story about a camping trip that Michael takes Mike on, and this is kind of a sequel to that. (Unfortunately ao3 won't let me post the link for your convenience like I usually would.) You don't really have to read the other one to understand this one though. I went ahead and created a series, so they will all be together. Since, let's be honest, I am almost certain to write more in the future. Like I said, I really hope that you guys like this one. I rated it Teen and Up just since this one is very angsty, but there isn't anything inappropriate in this one or anything. (Other than mentions of Jacob.) Please let me know what you guys think and if you would like to see more. (You're likely to get more either way, but it's always nice to know if you guys have enjoyed what I've written.)
> 
> I have plans for other prison break stories coming up. One of which I plan to begin work on tomorrow, so hopefully I will have it ready to post soon. I can't promise that it won't be angsty as well, but it will not be rated T either...
> 
> As always, thanks so much for reading.

Family Ties:

Sara stood staring into the mirror in the bathroom, ignoring the sounds coming from the bedroom that told her that her husband was home. God, that was hard to get used to. Husband. Her husband was home. Her actual husband. She thought she would never get to say those words to herself again. But here he was, back from the dead. It was a difficult concept to wrap her brain around. She sighed softly and continued to rub the lotion into her hands. It wasn’t that she was hiding from Michael as much as hiding from the report she would be forced to ask for when she opened the bathroom door.

 

He had taken their son camping, had even thought of the outing all on his own, but she had no trouble guessing that Mike would not believe that. Surely their son suspected that she had put his father up to it. Had Mike said so much to Michael? Had he told him that he’d been camping before?

 

The memory of that particular trip made Sara shutter suddenly. All memories of Jacob made her shutter these days, but that one was particularly troubling. How had she been so stupid? How had she not read between the lines of Jacob’s reaction? Surely that had been some kind of warning sign that she hadn’t heeded. Just the memory of moments like that, moments when she should have known better, froze the breath in her chest. How could she have let someone like that into her life? Into her son’s life? And now Michael would know what she had done, just how bad she had failed their child. She frowned at her reflection. Okay, maybe she was hiding from him, a little. She just couldn’t stand the idea of facing him yet, of having to ask how their trip had gone, of learning that her husband knew what she had done, or rather not done. How could he ever forgive her for letting her guard down like that?

 

She sighed again and considered the situation. The pair had managed to make it through an entire night at least. That was more than could be said about his disastrous camping trip with Jacob. Maybe things hadn’t gone as bad as she feared that they would when Michael had suggested it. They might have even had fun. She hoped they had had fun at least. Mike had always wanted to go camping. Or at least he had once. The trip with Jacob had gone so badly that he had never expressed a desire to ever go camping again. His friend Jimmy’s dad had even offered to take him, but Mike had never expressed much enthusiasm for the idea. It was one of those things that were a closed subject with him, a hard no. Mike Scofield Jr. did not go camping, with anyone for any reason. Yet, when Michael suggested it, the boy had said yes. But that part really hadn’t surprised her that much. Of course, their son was unlikely to say no to the father he had always wanted to know. That had been the part that had bothered her the most. Would Mike only go because he was afraid to say no? She frowned again. As much as she wanted her husband and son to get to know each other better, she didn’t want to force Mike to do something that he didn’t want to do. She was determined to tell Michael that. ‘He doesn’t like camping,’ she would say.

 

But was it the camping that the boy hadn’t liked? She considered the question. He had been so excited for the trip. It was all he had talked about for days, that trip with Jacob and Jimmy. ‘They were going to have so much fun,’ he kept telling her. ‘It was going to be awesome.’

 

The memory made her smile involuntarily. She had rarely seen him so excited about anything in his life, and it broke her heart when he and Jacob had come home early, much too early. Mike had obviously been upset about something, but he refused to tell her what had happened, not for days. And when he finally did open up to her, all he would say was that Jacob had gotten mad at him, though he wouldn’t say why. Jacob had said why. The memory of that haunted her. Carefully, she braced herself and opened the bathroom door.

 

Michael turned to look at her as she entered their bedroom. “I was wondering where you’d gotten to,” he said with a smile.

 

Sara acknowledge the greeting with a strained smile of her own. She surveyed her husband carefully for signs that something was wrong. It was still fairly early in the day, just past noon. Did that mean it hadn’t gone very well? “I wasn’t expecting you back so soon,” she said carefully.

 

Michael shrugged and glanced at the open door in the distance. “I didn’t want to overwhelm him,” he admitted, lowering his voice until she could barely hear him.

 

She shifted a little in the doorway, the confession making her feel guilty. Of course he would consider their son’s feelings. How could she have thought otherwise? Maybe because Mike had been through so much, and she didn’t want to see him get hurt, not ever again. “How’d it go?” she asked, crossing the room to shut the door.

 

Michael was frowning down at his half-packed bag when she turned to face him. “Okay, I think,” he admitted carefully. “It’s hard to tell with him sometimes.”

 

The rest of that thought was left unspoken, but Sara was pretty sure that she heard the words he wasn’t able to say. “It’ll get easier,” she assured him. “He just needs a little time.”

 

Michael shot her a strained smile and sat down next to his luggage. There were so many things that she wanted to ask him, but her fears about what he might say held her back. There was something about the set of his shoulders that made her worry that whatever he was thinking was weighing on him heavily. It was difficult to read him sometimes, but she was pretty sure that she was on the money this time. “Did something happen?” she found herself asking despite her reservations.

 

He glanced at her with a deep frown and shook his head. At least that was something. She had been so afraid that things would go badly and that neither of them would have a good time.  But something had clearly upset Michael. “What did you guys do?” she asked, trying to skirt around what she was afraid was bothering him.

 

He shrugged again. “Not much. The usual camping stuff, fire building, marshmallow roasting, bird watching. Mike is really into birds. Did you know that?” There was a wistful note to his tone. It seemed to say, ‘I should have known that.’

 

Despite herself, Sara couldn’t help but wish that that was what was weighing on him. As much as she knew that it hurt Michael to have missed all those years with Mike, that was at least something she could deal with. But if he knew about the trip with Jacob… She couldn’t finish that sentence, even to herself. It consumed her all the same, and it took a minute for her to process his words. Mike was into bird watching? “I didn’t know that actually,” she said truthfully. “He’s never seemed interested in birds before.”

 

Michael smiled, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes. She could tell that he didn’t completely believe her. “Well,” he said, his voice carefully measured, “we went for a hike this morning, and he gave me a play-by-play of all the birds we ran across. He seemed pretty knowledgeable, like he’s done a bunch of reading on the subject or something.”

 

Sara thought about the many books that had littered her son’s room in New York. She didn’t particularly remember any of them being about birds, but there had been so many that maybe she had missed them. “There was this nature show he liked,” she said slowly, almost to herself instead of to him. “Maybe that’s where the birds came from.”

 

“Maybe. He seemed to have fun at least. Guess I shouldn’t question that.” He paused, a strange look on his face. “I thought that he might want to leave at first,” he added suddenly.

 

Sara froze for a second, unsure what she was supposed to say to that. So he did know about the trip with Jacob. “Look,” she began, “I don’t know what Mike said…” The look he shot her stopped her in her tracks.

 

“You don’t have to apologize again,” he told her, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

 

She couldn’t exactly blame him for that. Even she had lost count of the number of times she had apologized for Jacob. “You’re right,” she said. “We’ve both been doing that a lot lately, and it doesn’t exactly help matters does it.” It doesn’t bring back all those years that you weren’t here, she thought to herself.

 

He seemed to have heard her even though she hadn’t said the last part aloud. “No,” he said, “it doesn’t. I just wish that it did.” He gave her a sad smile that pierced her heart in a way that she didn’t think she would ever get used to.

 

She sighed softly. “What exactly did Mike tell you?” she asked, though she feared what the answer might be.

 

“Not much,” Michael admitted. “Just that he and Jacob went camping once, but he didn’t have much fun. It didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it, so I didn’t push.”

 

Sara knew her husband too well to think she would get off so lucky. He might be willing to skirt around their seven-year-old, to give him the time he needed to open up, but he would demand answers from her. The interrogation would be gentle, but he had always had a way of getting information out of her when he wanted it. Not that she wanted to hide things from him. It was just hard to talk about the past, especially the past with Jacob. How was she supposed to tell the man she loved stories about the man who had stolen his life? “I wasn’t sure what to say,” she admitted. “That’s the only reason I didn’t tell you.”

 

Michael frowned even deeper than before. Apparently, she was not the only one struggling with what to say. “Mike thought you had told me, that that was the only reason I had taken him camping in the first place. But tell me what exactly?” There was more than just curiosity in his tone, in the probing look on his face.

 

Sara racked her brain for what her son must have assumed she had told his father. The events of that fateful trip flashed through her mind. Jacob had taken Mike and his friend on a camping trip the year before. They had come home the same night, and Mike had never wanted to go again, no matter how many times the possibility was presented to him. Not even when Jimmy’s dad had suggested that he be the one to take them. That memory made her frown. He had been so insistent that he take the boys out, so sure that Mike would want to go, so understanding when her boy had said no. Had Jimmy told him something? She tried to shake the thought from her mind. There wasn’t time to dwell on that just now. She needed to figure out what her son had meant, what he thought she had told Michael. Nothing about it made sense. Why would he even think that she would say something? Sure, she had cautioned Michael not to get his hopes up, that Mike might not want to go. But that was just because she didn’t want Michael to be upset when their son said no because he doesn’t like camping. Unless… Suddenly Jacob’s explanation of what had happened out in the woods popped into her head. “He likes camping,” she said, almost to herself. The idea sent her reeling. “He wanted to go again.” How could she have not realized that?

 

When she finally pulled herself from her thoughts and looked up, Michael was watching her carefully, his expression hard to read. “I think that’s what he thought I told you, that he wanted to go camping with you, but I didn’t realize.” He shot her a puzzled look. “It’s a long story. What exactly did he tell you about his camping trip with Jacob?”

 

“That he didn’t have fun. I tried not to be happy about that.”

 

She couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “I’m sure you tried your best.”

 

“At least I felt bad about being a little happy about that,” he replied sheepishly. “Honest.”

 

She could believe that. Michael wasn’t the kind of person who would take pleasure in his son having a horrible time just because it was with someone he hated. He would have wanted Mike to have a good time, if only for Mike’s sake. “Is that all he said?” she asked.

 

Michael shook his head. “No. He said that Jacob had gotten mad at him and they went home early. That he had left his stuff behind.”

 

It was clear by the finality in his tone that Mike hadn’t shared anything else with him. That realization only helped to support her theory. “He didn’t tell you what the fight was about?” She didn’t need for Michael to answer to know that Mike hadn’t said anything. Why would he? After all, he thought she had been the one to tell, that she had understood. But she hadn’t. What kind of mother is that clueless that they don’t know what is going on with their own kid like that? “I feel so stupid,” she muttered to herself.

 

“It’s not your fault,” Michael assured her, like he understood just how much she had failed their son.

 

She sighed and tried to find a way to explain. “It’s a long story, one that I’m not sure how to explain.” She paused for a long moment and tried to put her memories into some kind of order. “The trip had been the boys’ idea. Back in New York Mike had this friend, Jimmy. They did everything together. I guess Jimmy’s dad had taken him camping, and when he had told Mike about it, they decided it would be fun to go together. I don’t really know, to be honest. I just remember that Mike suddenly seemed so excited about the prospect of going camping with Jimmy.” She paused again and tried to consider how to go on. “They started camping out in the backyard when Jimmy would spend the night. It was so adorable,” she said with a fond smile, easily getting lost in her memories for a moment. “At first,” she went on carefully, “I thought it was great when Jacob offered to take them. He had never really struck me as the camping type, and it seemed to me that he was really taking one for the team. Of course, looking back now…” Remembering it all now wiped the smile from her face. “Mike and Jimmy were so happy that Jacob was going to take them. Mike kept packing and unpacking his bag, so concerned he’d leave behind something he needed. I thought that it was great, but things didn’t go well. And that’s putting things mildly. It was almost like night and day between when they left and when they came home. Mike never wanted to go camping again after that, not even in the backyard with his friend. Jimmy’s dad kept inviting him, but he always said no. And I never wanted to force him. You know? If it wasn’t something that he enjoyed, I didn’t want to push.” She cut herself off with a heavy sigh. “I just didn’t know what to do.”

 

Michael continued to frown as he watched her pace. “What happened exactly?”

 

“I don’t know; Mike would never tell me. I only know what Jacob said happened.”

 

“And he’s such a reliable source,” Michael replied bitterly.

 

The tone took her by surprise. Usually, he was very careful how he referred to Jacob in case Mike might be around, but there were always moments when his hurt and anger came out despite himself. It was a further reminder of how much time had passed, how much they had both changed. “Unfortunately,” she said carefully, “I think that in this instance he is a reliable source.” It was clearly that Michael was skeptical, so she went on. “It’s what they fought about that makes me think he was telling the truth.”

 

“Which was?” her husband prompted.

 

Now they were into the very territory she was anxious to avoid. How was she supposed to tell him knowing that their son was already upset that he might know? “Look, maybe Mike should tell you when he’s ready.”

 

Michael raised his eyebrows expectantly. She had been pretty sure that he wasn’t going to accept that as an answer. “I guess after they got there Jacob overheard a conversation between the boys. At least that was how he put it, but that part might not be entirely truthful,” she began. “How it came up, I’m not sure, but apparently Mike told Jimmy that he wished that he could go camping with his real dad. Or something to that effect. I think that’s what Mike thought I had told you.”

 

“And I had invited him camping out of obligation,” Michael finished for her. He looked deeply sad suddenly. “He said that I didn’t have to pretend that I wanted to be there. How could he think that?” He looked up at her, as if she had any of the answers. “I just wish that I could find a way to explain things to him in a way that he would understand, but I can’t, not without making things so much worse for him.”

 

Sara had the same wish. If only there was a handbook on how to explain to your child that their stepfather was evil. She was pretty sure that one wasn’t available at the local bookshop. “This is all my fault,” she said, sinking to the floor. “How could I have not realized that something was wrong?”

 

“It’s not your fault. How could you have known?”

 

“That trip is how I should have known.” She shook her head. “Looking back on it now, I don’t know how I could have missed the signs. He brought Mike back crying, and when I asked him what had happened, he made it sound like he was the one that had been wronged. And you know what I did? I reassured him. What kind of mother does that? I didn’t even think to ask what he had said to make my six-year-old cry or that that might be why Mike didn’t want to go camping again.”

 

The look Michael shot her was sympathetic, only making her feel worse. “You thought he was a good guy. Why would you assume that he had done something to upset Mike?”

 

“He made our son cry, Michael. A year ago! I should have realized that he wasn’t who I thought he was then. What kind of person gets mad at a child because he is wondering about his father? And he was mad. That much I realized even back then. I remember thinking that it was ridiculous. Of course Mike would wonder about you. It only made sense. How could Jacob really expect any different? But when I pointed that out to him, he only got angrier. ‘I’m the one who’s here.’” The words made her pause, her head tilted to the side as she considered them. “And that was strange,” she said quietly. “I remember thinking that was off somehow. The way he said it. Like it was your fault that you were dead. Like you wouldn’t have been here if you could. And all that time… All that time it was all his fault.” She tried to fight back the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

 

Michael got off the bed and came over to sit beside her. “It’s not your fault,” he whispered. “I’m the one who brought him into our lives.”

 

“Not by choice.”

 

He nodded. “I’ve done a lot of things that weren’t my choice, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still responsible. I should have been here to take Mike camping. I should have been here for a lot of things.” She couldn’t bring herself to look at him, but his wistful tone betrayed the tears in his own eyes.

 

“You’re here now,” she whispered. “You can be here for everything else.”

 

“If only it were hat simple. Mike is never going to forgive me for being gone, not unless I tell him the truth about Jacob, and that’s not something that I would wish on him. As much as I hate the man, I don’t want Mike to know who he was, not now, not ever. Can you imagine how confusing that would be for him, knowing that someone he trusted never really cared about him? I don’t think he’ll ever be able to understand that.”

 

Sara hoped that wasn’t the case. “You never know,” she said. “Mike will understand one day. You just have to have a little faith.”

 

To her shock, he laughed at that. It was soft, muffled by his tears, but the laugh was there all the same. “We will get through this,” she assured him. “It won’t be easy, but if we give it a little time, things will get better.”

 

She turned to see Michael nodding slowly. “Time. I get that.”

 

Carefully she leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. “Maybe we could do something together as a family. Things might be easier with me there. The zoo maybe. He’s never been to the one here, and I bet he’d love it. We could go next weekend.”

 

Michael shook his head. “Can’t. He wants to go camping again next weekend.”

 

She couldn’t help pulling away in surprise. “Mike wants to go camping again?” she asked before she could stop herself.

 

“That’s what he said,” Michael responded with a shrug. “Should I not take him?”

 

Sara hated that he seemed so unsure about himself as he asked. “No, you should. I was just a little surprised is all. I wasn’t expecting that he would want to go again so soon.”

 

Michael shrugged it off again, but she could tell that he was still uneasy about it. “I’m sorry,” she said, despite their agreement that apologizing didn’t help.

 

“I don’t know what you’re sorry for,” he replied, not quite looking at her. “It was a good idea. We should definitely hit the zoo sometime.”

 

It was hard to hide her smile. “And we will. Weekend after next. Our first big outing as a family.”

 

The words hung heavy in the air, the weight of what she was suggesting hitting her suddenly. They should have had so many family outings over the years, and yet the closest they had come to being a family was that day in the park. “Maybe we should see if Lincoln wants to come,” she suddenly suggested.

 

“Because having my brother there would make things better? Less tense?” Michael asked with a laugh. “That would be a first.”

 

She knew that he was only teasing but still shoved him playfully. “No, because he’s your brother, and if we are going to spend some time together as a family, we should invite him.”

 

Michael nodded and shot her the first genuine smile since she had come out of the bathroom. “I bet he would love to come. Maybe LJ could come too. I’ve been back for months now and still haven’t gotten to see my nephew.”

 

The mention of Lincoln’s son felt like having a glass of ice water poured down her back. Of course, Lincoln hadn’t told him. Why had she expected differently? “I don’t think LJ would be able to come?” she said carefully as she rose from the floor to continue the unpacking her husband had abandoned.

 

“Of course. Short notice and all that,” Michael replied, rising to help. “I should have realized that he’d be busy with school. Maybe next time. Or Thanksgiving. He’ll have a break then, and that isn’t that far away. Maybe he could come home then. Of course, we’ll need to do a lot of work on the house to get it ready for guests.”

 

He was babbling, another new trait, one that Sara wasn’t sure how to respond to. The more and more he talked about seeing his nephew, the further she wanted to bury herself in a very deep hole. “He can’t come Michael,” she said firmly.

 

The sound of her voice stopped him in his tracks. “Why can’t he come?”

 

Sara considered the question as she took a moment to curse Lincoln for still not saying anything. “You should talk to your brother,” she said finally.

 

“Where’s LJ?” Michael asked.

 

She shook her head again. “Talk to your brother,” she said again. This was not a problem that she was going to solve for her brother-in-law. He was a grown man and could take care of himself. “I’m going to go check on Mike,” she added and left before her husband could ask after his nephew again.


End file.
